Azula and Ty Lee
by Lothlorienx
Summary: Tyzula: the Fire Nation princess, the acrobat, and the love between them. But Azula's flames are always sure to burn. Smut, fluff, romance, and simple togetherness.
1. Fiery Night

Night had fallen, casting the Fire Nation palace into darkness. Candles and lanterns were being lit, flames shooting from peoples' fingertips quickly and precisely. Warm light flooded the hallways and the dim exterior walls. Beyond the soft orange light was nothing but blackness.

"What a beautiful night!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing open the balcony doors. She stepped out into the warm night air, spinning around gleefully.

Azula followed behind her, watching her carefully.

She remained near the threshold, not wanting to venture outside too much. The passerby's below might have seen her, looking as disheveled as she did. Her hair was completely undone, and slightly messy despite her efforts to comb it through with her fingers. Her red silken robe hung over her shoulders, unbelted, leaving a good portion of her naked body exposed.

Ty Lee spun around again, her unbound hair spinning out in all directions. Jumping forward, she balanced herself on the ledge of the balcony, upside-down. She walked a little ways like that, slowly moving her hands one in front of the other.

Not that she would fall.

"You certainly are skilled," said Azula. Ty Lee smiled one of her big, bright smiles at her, before jumping back down onto her feet. "Why, thank you," she said, bowing slightly. "To receive a compliment from one such as you is truly delightful!" She ran forward suddenly, embracing Azula in a tight hug.

Azula wrapped her arms around her, sliding her hands over her back, playing with her hair. Grabbing at the strings that covered her back, Azula tried to tear away at them. The pink silk breast binder Ty Lee had on, Azula was determined to make come off.

She fidgeted around with the knots, but to no avail. Impatient, she flicked blue flames out of her fingers, breaking the knots with her fire. The breast binder fell from Ty Lee's chest, leaving her breasts exposed.

"A far more suitable look for you," Azula said to her, making Ty Lee blush.

"Why, thank you," Ty Lee said again, kissing her on the lips. Azula kissed back, her tongue darting forwards and backwards. She bit at Ty Lee's lower lip, again and again as they kissed.

All the while, Ty Lee's hands explored under Azula's robe. They felt around her body, feeling the muscles in her, softly squeezing her breasts, her thighs, her ass, and back up to her breasts.

"Let's go back inside," Azula told her, taking her hand and leading her back into her bedroom.

Azula's room practically glowed purple, due to the mixture of reddish and blue flames that flickered in the lanterns, the candles, and the hearths. The light reflected all around the room, being caught by the fine woven silks.

Letting go of her hand, Ty Lee cartwheeling herself onto Azula's bed, plopping down with an exasperated sigh. She ran her hands over the sheets, giving Azula her sultriest look. Pulling at the canopy surrounding the bed, she said, "Will you not come join me?"

Dropping her robe to the floor, she crawled up onto the bed with Ty Lee. She ran her hands up and down her thighs, and back up again to hook her fingers around her panties. Embroidered, pink silk. Perfect for a noble woman.

"Why did you ever run off with the circus?" Azula asked her, pulling her panties off of her, spinning them around on her finger.

"I couldn't let these talents go to waste," said the naked Ty Lee. Leaning back, she formed a bridge with her body, giving Azula a completely unadulterated view. Ty Lee lifted one leg up, high over her head, before bringing the other one up with it.

Azula leaned back onto the mattress, smirking.

Ty Lee brought both legs down again, in front of her, then back up and down behind her. Back when she was still with the circus, this was the exercise she had done to stretch her muscles and warm herself up. Now, it had taken on a completely different purpose.

"You must of had many admirers," Azula said, watching as Ty Lee kicked her legs back and forth, splitting them and bringing them together rhythmically.

"Oh, yes, many!" she replied. Kissing her again, she continued, "None like you though."

"There's no one like me!"

Ty Lee placed the pads of her feet on Azula's shoulders, gently, testing them. She seemed not to mind, so she let them relax there. They kissed more, pressing their lips together in a heated frenzy.

Azula nibbled at her lips every once in a while, before darting her tongue out to lick the redness, and then kissing her again, deeply and without restraint.

Ty Lee hummed a happy tune.

"You taste like pomegranates," Ty Lee told her. "Like sweet…burnt…pomegranates."

"Do I?" Azula asked. He gripped Ty Lee's ankles and pushed them off of her, making Ty Lee fall flat onto the bed. She landed on her stomach with a soft moan. Looking up, she glared at Azula, her eyes darkening with pleasure.

"You're awfully rough," she said, biting her lip.

Azula crawled over on top of her, sitting on her back. Slowly, she began to grind her hips up against Ty Lee's body, moaning softly. Ty Lee gripped at the silk sheets, moving her body along to Azula's pace.

Azula dropped down to all fours, hovering over Ty Lee's body, touching her only with her sex. Still they continued to let out soft, quiet moans and hums. From behind, Ty Lee could feel her lover clasp her hair, pulling it back slightly, tugging at the soft brown.

Kissing, grinding, pulling, biting. All so slowly, all so blissful. The two women continued like that, letting the seconds stretch into minutes and letting the minutes roll on by without a care in the world.

"Turn around," Azula told her, groping her ass. Ty Lee did as she was told, and spun over onto her back, facing Azula, along with her probing hands. Gripping, squeezing, inserting themselves into her. Ty Lee's head fell back with a moan, her eyes closing.

She could feel Azula's fingers move around inside of her, in and out and around, twisting and turning, hooking and pulling deep inside of her. Her moans became louder, more frantic.

"I have got you wrapped around my little finger," Azula told her, chuckling.

"Mmmm," Ty Lee responded, unable to say much more.

She continued her hooked thrusts, making Ty Lee wetter and wetter by the second. Her skin was flushed a scarlet color, from her face down to her breasts. She teased the pink nipples on her, swirling them around with her fingers, ever-so-gently pinching them.

Ty Lee felt her hands being swatted away from her breasts. Opening her eyes just enough to see, she saw Azula's hands had replaced her own. "Mine," Azula told her softly, leaning in to kiss her again.

Azula's fingers began to thrust deeper and faster, moving at a pace Ty Lee did not believe was possible. The thrusting continued, on and on, increasing her arousal tenfold, twentyfold…

Her moans were load enough now to be heard by anyone who were to walk by the door. Not that either of them cared.

Ty Lee's muscles clenched and released, clenched again. With each wave of pleasure that went through her body, she could feel it thrust and give way in a small part. Her arms trembling, her hands gripping and tugging at the sheets, her feet pointed. She lifted her legs up around Azula, hugging her almost.

"Yes!" Ty Lee moaned, thrusting her hips upwards again. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" With each cry, she thrust herself upwards, pushing herself down onto Azula's fingers. She inserted another one, and spun her hand, teasing Ty Lee's clitoris with her thumb.

"Aaahhh!"

More. More! MORE!

Ty Lee could feel her orgasm approaching, rushing up to her quickly. Her body burned, her sex throbbed. A heat was spreading throughout her chest as though Azula had taken her blue fire and was licking it all over her.

She gasped again, and with a shaking cry, she felt herself being thrust into orgasm. Her body tensed as she rode the waves of pleasure. Azula still continued to thrust her fingers in and out of her though, still continued to circle her clitoris with her thumb.

She wasn't going to let Ty Lee come down anytime soon. Ty Lee's body nearly hummed with pleasure. As she felt the waves begin to soften, her body relaxed slightly, still high on pleasure as Azula continued.

Ty Lee thrust her body up again, slower, less frantically this time. She breathed deep, breathing in the fresh night air and the sweet scents all around her. "Yes," she said again, as she felt a second orgasm approaching.

"Yes. Yes. Aaaahhhhh."

Azula pulled back, watching Ty Lee with a look of love and lust and desire in her. Wickedness was flashing in her amber eyes. She trailed her still wet hand over Ty Lee's body, spreading the wetness onto her skin, and onto the sheets.

Azula fell onto Ty Lee, pressing her entire body up onto her, giving her small kisses that hinted of something more to come. Her eyes still glowing with desire, her mouth smiling a wicked grin, her soft breasts pressed up against her lover's.

"Now," said Azula in a dark, controlling voice, "for what I want you to do to me… ."


	2. Firelord

Azula was getting older now, changing, maturing. A young woman who seemed to have outgrown so many of her childhood memories.

But her dreams were still the same.

Even after all they had gone through together, everything terrible that had happened between the years, Ty Lee and Azula had run back into each other's arms. It felt safe, like home.

They knew that it was where they both belonged.

Once more, Azula took Ty Lee to her bed every night.

It was not always to fuck.

Sometimes it was as simple as a kiss or two, strokes up and down their bodies, whispers in her ear…

A deep sleep…

But tonight there was more. So much more to it.

Ty Lee could taste it in her kisses, the hot burning passion between them. The fiery friction that was ever growing, the sexual tension just begging to be released from the both of them.

Azula hands were all over Ty Lee, feeling every inch of her skin, not fearing even the most intimate and private parts of her.

The way her fingers reached between her legs, stroking back and forth over her teasingly.

Yes, tonight was going to be an explosion of sexual conquest for the both of them. Ty Lee could sense the beautiful torture that she was in for, could almost feel Azula's long fingers reaching inside of her once more.

Her breasts goading themselves into her mouth.

"Ty Lee," Azula whispered. Her voice sounded strained, as though she was on the verge of coming right then and there. Her fingers went to Ty Lee's hair and threaded themselves through the soft brown strands.

Gently, she sunk her nails into Ty Lee's scalp.

Ty Lee leaned forward, opening her mouth and taking one of Azula's breasts into her mouth. Her tongue flicked over her nipples, hardening them. She sucked at the skin until bright red markings appeared on her shimmering skin.

"Ty Lee," Azula whispered again.

Her golden eyes were alight with passion. A passion so deep and so strong that it felt like looking into the most vulgar, most hidden away parts of her soul.

"Azula," Ty Lee returned.

Azula's fingers went up to Ty Lee's eyes. She closed them, breathing in deeply. With her eyes closed, her sense of smell was heightened. She could smell the jasmine that clung to their bodies, the scents of sandalwood and pomegranates. The unmistakable scents of musk and lust.

The heady scent of sex in the air.

She loved the smell of it.

Pressing gently onto her skin, Azula smeared the remnants of the red paint there. Ty Lee had been quick to was off her Kyoshi makeup, eager to jump into bed with her lover once more.

She pulled her reddened fingertips away.

Ty Lee opened her eyes just in time to see Azula smearing the faint red makeup down her breast. Crossing it with the marks Ty Lee had left there.

"I thought I had washed that all away," Ty Lee said.

Azula captured her mouth in another kiss.

It was heated, desperate. Between each frantic kiss, the two of them nipped at each other's skin, careful not to take blood.

Azula's nails trailed along her lover's back, following the curve of her spine. They trailed up, down, up, down the delicate softness of her skin. Each stroke of her fingers sent shivers running through Ty Lee, adding to her arousal.

Her nipples hardened with each shiver that ran through her.

She panted.

They were both desperate for release, but neither of them wanted this moment to end. This sweet moment of sexual tension and heated frenzy.

Azula hands came forward to Ty Lee's shoulders. She pushed her down, back onto the sheets of the bed. Her eyes traveled up and down her body, lingering on each red mark, drinking in the sight of her sex.

She licked her lips.

She thought of going down on Ty Lee without lingering any longer. But she didn't. She wanted to prolong this suffering. No matter how much she would love to feel Ty Lee shake and shutter, hear her cries and pleas and throaty moans. See her body go wild as she let Azula take control of her.

But, she had grown.

Matured.

Time had passed between the both of them.

Tonight, she wanted something different.

"Ty Lee," Azula said to her, making Ty Lee look her in the eyes. "Tonight," she whispered, leaning forward. Their lips were only a breath apart. "Tonight, I want you to be my Firelord."

Her eyes widened, but only for a moment.

She smiled a mischievous smile at her. "Do you now?"

Azula nodded sharply, and moved herself off of Ty Lee's body. She took her place on the bed, laying down flat on the soft sheets, waiting for Ty Lee to take the lead.

Ty Lee sat up and looked at Azula, her eyes roaming up and down her curves. Her fingers reached forward, teasingly stroking her up and down the length of her body. Trying to see how serious she was about this.

Her body responded gloriously. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back. Her back arched, her hips giving instinctive thrusts. At the slightest touch, she spread her legs out for her, letting her tease her both inside and out.

"Apparently, you do."

Ty Lee moved on top of her, pinning her down onto the bed.

Azula's eyes opened once more. She glared at Ty Lee with her golden eyes, furious and loving all at the same time. The wicked desire still in them, undeniable.

"I try not to lie nowadays."

Still, she glared at Ty Lee, something similar to rage showing on her face.

Why, Ty Lee did not know. She glared back down at Azula, studying her face. Studying her body.

Their eyes locking together, Ty Lee inserted her fingers into Azula. Her hips thrust upwards, and she gave a small gasp.

She did so again, nearly stabbing her fingers inside of her.

Azula made no move to change this.

She let Ty Lee do to her as she pleased, letting her take control of her body. It was a nice change, she thought. To have Azula trust her like this, for her to be in the lead. Didn't happen often, so she was going to savor every sweet, sweet moment of it.

"I am your Firelord," Ty Lee told Azula, leaning down close to her face. She pressed a small kiss to her cheek. Glaring at her, she told her, "You will please your Firelord."


	3. Straightface

A fist slammed down on the table before her, hard enough to make the table moved with the bang. Loud echoes went through the room as the general continued their shouting.

"That will not work!" Small flames licked through the air with the generals fists. "That has to be the worst idea I have ever heard of in all my—"

"Enough!" Azula said, her voice loud and steady.

At her voice, everyone in the room quieted down, shrinking back into their seats and letting their rage subside.

Azula continued, "Thank you, General Yu for your input. But there is no need to start a fight over this." Her voice was oddly calm and collective, even for her. Usually, she would love to see a fight start over this, but her quickly approaching orgasm subdued any other thought from her head.

Ty Lee was underneath the table, lifting up Azula's thick skirts sucking hard at her clit. Her tongue danced around Azula's clit, occasionally darting out to lick at her thighs, or her lower stomach, or to just teasingly circle around her skin, so slowly that it kept Azula on the edge, wanting more.

She pushed her tongue deep into Azula's body, shifting it around. Azula instinctively thrust her hips up against her, but it was still nothing that could give her away.

As Ty Lee licked away at her, Azula's hand snuck underneath the table, entwining her fingers into Ty Lee's soft brown hair and lowering to stroke her cheek. Ty Lee smiled, and pushed Azula's legs farther apart.

"General Meng," Azula said, addressing the woman far from her place at the table, "what do you suggest?" General Meng raised an eyebrow at her, oddly put off by Azula's happy (though subdued) tone.

Still, she spoke up about her plans, pointing to random sections of the map that Azula didn't care for.

Azula blinked, long and slow, over and over again as Ty Lee worked away at her clit, circling it quickly. Azula took a deep breath as she came, focusing her eyes blankly onto the map. Underneath the table, Azula's fingers gripped into Ty Lee's hair.

She wanted to close her thighs, but Ty Lee held fast to her, gripping her legs and keeping them spread apart, and her skirts pushed up and away from her body. She wasn't done with Azula yet, and Azula knew that.

But still, she needed to keep a straightface for this meeting, and she was worried Ty Lee might make her break.

She bit her lip as Ty Lee worked her back up, quickly again, not letting her rest from her first orgasm and speeding her towards another.

"And that, Princess, is my plan of action."

"That does seem reasonable," Azula said, her voice low in attempt to keep it steady, "but I think I need more convincing of this."

"More convincing?" another general said.

"Yes," Azula snapped, just as Ty Lee nipped at her sensitive skin.

Everyone at the table shrunk back, not daring to question her. General Meng had someone to vouch for her, explaining in detail how this would most likely benefit the Fire Nation. Azula could only catch every other word, if that. Her eyes kept darting from the table, to the maps, to blank space.

She bit her lip as her second orgasm approached.

Ty Lee ran her hand up and down Azula's thigh, feather-light touches ghosting down her inner thighs, making her slightly shiver. Goosebumps arose at her touch. Ty Lee let her light touches travel down to Azula's knee, were she put pressure on it.

Something that no one could resist.

Azula gave another small thrust up against her, bucking Ty Lee's tongue hard up against her wetness. Ty Lee gave a flick of her tongue, and Azula's leg nearly jumped, had she not been holding onto it.

"Stop!" Azula shouted, silencing all at the table. She looked around, surveying all the faces that were upon her. She was glad for the flames that burned around the room, otherwise she ran the risk of everyone seeing the bright red blush that had crept across her skin.

"You," she said, pointing at random, "tell me your plans. We've yet to hear anything from you."

"Princess," said General Yu, respectfully as he could, "if you go around the table asking each and everyone of us our specific thoughts, this meeting could go on longer than intended."

"I do not care," Azula said. Leaning forward, she laced her fingers together, staring blankly ahead. "I intend to draw this meeting out for as long as it takes."

Just as Ty Lee inserted her fingers into her, she wished she could take that back. Ty Lee was definitely going to break her before this meeting was over.


	4. The Flames Danced Hotter

They were alone this time, the three of them having taken off from the Royal Elite Guard and gone on to track the Avatar by themselves. It was so much easier to move around that way, and it granted the ladies a privacy that they had never had before. The servants and nobles of the palace had eyes everywhere, so those stolen moments were just that—stolen pieces of time when no one saw them.

Even life in the circus had its drawbacks, for everyone was so in touch with one another. You could have your privacy at a price. You asked for a few minutes alone, and people would grant that to you gladly enough, but in the mean time they would wonder what it was you were doing, and small little bubbles of gossip would arise.

But now there was no one.

Mai.

Ty Lee.

Azula.

And that was all of them.

No one else.

Unless you counted the large reptilian creatures who snaked within the machine. But even then they were no bother. They stayed out of your way for the most part, and they spent long times sleeping and napping and lounging about. They loved it in the sunlight.

Best of all they responded to every beck and call.

Ty Lee slid her tongue over her lips, musing about all of this as she waited eagerly for Azula's next move.

The two of them had been at it for days, letting the sexual tension between them build up into fire. A fire hot and blue and crackling with static while burning to ashes. Just like Azula's fire, Azula meant to prolong this, wait until the burn of desire got so intense between them that nothing could have held them back at the last minute.

They would go at each other, tearing at each others clothes and writing against each others' bodies just like the reptiles were trained to do in a hunt.

Azula's bright eyes were alight with passion, their gaze so intense it felt like Ty Lee's very soul was being judge. She licked her lips again, swallowing hard as her eyes flicked back and forth to Azula and the grassy ground.

Peeking over at Mai, Ty Lee saw that she didn't really care at all.

Heat rushed to her skin as Azula drew closer. There was something about the way she was carrying herself today that suggested something dangerous, that something might snap.

Ty Lee knew that tonight would be the night.

All the built up tension between them would be sliced through with a metaphorical knife.

Within hours, the sun had set, with another ten dozen miles or so put between them and their starting point, the machine running on and on in the desired direction. The sky was alight with orange and yellow, casting eerie, long shadows over everything it touched.

The sky was burning just as she was.

Ty Lee lay in bed, not having anything else to do, waiting impatiently for Azula to come to her, like she knew she would. She bit down on her lip, trying to hold off on starting without her. The flames between her legs were practically roaring, heating her nerves into a frenzy that she was desperate to satisfy. She rocked her hips up against the bed, but it did nothing to alleviate the stress.

It only stoked the flames higher.

She bit her lip and whimpered as her mind inflicted vivid images to her mind, thoughts of Azula and her long fingers lacing through the strands of her braid and pulling them free, letting her hair unbound. Kissing up her neck, she would play with her hair.

In Ty Lee's mind, Azula could make her climax again and again with a single touch, a single stroke as the tips of her sharpened, claw-like nails traced so lightly, so gently across the sensitive skin of her clit. The nails of her other hand playing with her breast, the lightest, gossamer scratches showing bright red on her skin.

"Azula, please hurry," Ty Lee said, crossing her hands over her chest and squeezing her eyes shut.

She needed her badly.

If she went ahead and pleasured herself, Azula would be beyond angered that she had been left out of the fun. Ty Lee didn't want that; she wanted Azula here with her, building her to a climax and watching the wicked glint in her eyes as Ty Lee screamed her name.

Her toes curled.

She took a shaky breath as she felt familiar fingers tapping at her neck, sliding down her skin light enough to be ticklish. Ty Lee giggled at the sensation. Azula's fingers worked their way across her neck, and her hand came down to clasp around her. It was similar to a chokehold, but far too gentle to ever be so.

Azula's fingers then slid down to her collarbones, where she was still ticklish. A wide smile broke across her face as she felt the rubbing there, toying and teasing her, until, after long minutes of anticipation, her hands moved down to grope Ty Lee's breasts. The nails bit in ever so softly.

"I've been waiting for you," Ty Lee told her.

Her head was leaned back, and her eyes were closed. Slowly, Ty Lee opened her eyes to thin slits to see Azula above her, smirking a small smirk, consumed with lust, and topless.

"I know that," Azula told her, and pressed a kiss up against her lips. From Ty Lee's upside-down position while kissing Azula, her neck was completely exposed. She felt vulnerable, and that vulnerability felt so erotic to her. Azula's hand brushed over her neck, rubbing around it before her fingers traced up and down the skin.

Ty Lee lay on the bed and Azula stood over her, right by her head.

She had come in earlier, watching Ty Lee quietly while she expertly slipped out of her clothes and armor. Ty Lee hadn't heard a thing, and Azula felt prideful and her superior stealth. And she had also loved hearing Ty Lee beg for her, when she thought Azula wasn't there. Want her, need her, plead for her aloud.

The flames danced hotter.

Azula kissed up the length of Ty Lee's neck. Her lips were warm and wet, and the faintest trace of her lip color was left upon Ty Lee's skin, tinting it the very color she felt between her legs. As Azula kissed her, Ty Lee spread her legs further and further apart on the mattress, yet still made no move to touch herself.

She would leave that to Azula.

Whenever she got around to that.

Ty Lee hoped it would be soon.

"You want me so badly," Azula said smugly. A coy smile was on her lips, and fire was in her eyes.

It was a damned miracle Ty Lee didn't come at that sight alone. Azula always looked her sexiest when she was hovering over her, flushed red and with the scent of sex clinging to her skin.

"I do want you," Ty Lee said honestly.

"I want you…I need you…" she trailed off, waiting for Azula to kiss her.

She didn't.

"Please," the word escaped Ty Lee's lips before she could stop them, "please, touch me, put your hands on me. Please, Azula."

Ty Lee thought she heard a small chuckle escape her lips. Azula's hands came down onto her once more, touching her all over her body, paying special attention to her throat and collarbones. She gripped at the sides of Ty Lee's neck, cutting the blood flow for a few mere seconds before lessening her grip and running her hands down to her breasts.

She slid them over Ty Lee's nipples, flicking at them until they had hardened. Tracing the ample skin, her hands came down underneath to cup her breasts, pushing them up along her chest. Azula practically glared at them.

She absolutely loved cleavage on a woman. Ty Lee was definitely her favorite.

That was when she finally decided to kiss Ty Lee. Hard and hot, on the lips, desperately seeking to feed that hot growing flame that had been ignited within them both. Ty Lee was moaning and humming, elated at Azula's touch. The way her nails scratched along her sensitive breasts while her lips crushed up against her.

When the kiss broke, she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

But she felt like she never would.

"Oh, Azula," she panted.

"I love it when you say that." Azula's voice sounded dangerous, despite the words.

"Azula," Ty Lee repeated, hoping it would drive her wild. Wild enough to finally give her the release that she needed. "Oh, Azula."

But it didn't.

Azula watched as the helpless Ty Lee moaned and sighed and pleaded for her, writhing with even the smallest of her touches, the flames between her legs growing hotter and hotter with each passing second. Another chuckle echoed within her throat, as she continued to hold off on Ty Lee's pleasure.

Ty Lee moaned.

Azula only grinned her wicked grin.

Completely ignoring her desperation, she shifting her touch to herself. She gripped at her breasts, touching them just the way she wanted, letting the pressure vary. Nails biting into herself, Azula sighed.

Ty Lee could only watch as Azula pleasured herself.

Standing up, Azula placed on of her knees upon Ty Lee's bed. Ty Lee spun around onto her stomach, waiting and watching to see what her lover would be doing next. Biting her lip, Ty Lee watched Azula's hands like a hawk watches its prey. Every twitch of the fingers, every imprint of her nails; nothing went unnoticed.

Her left hand still caressed her breast while her right hand trailed down between her legs. Her middle finger slide inside of herself, hooking and thrusting up against her spot of nerves, causing her to grow even wetter. With her fingers moistened to her liking, she moved to her clitoris.

Ty Lee would have given anything for that to have been her.

Azula should have been touching her, playing with her and building her towards climax, pleasuring her and not herself! Anger flashed in Ty Lee's eyes. Usually, Azula (always so keen on body language) would have picked it up immediately, had her eyes not been closed and her head tilted back.

In a moment of bravery, Ty Lee's hands flashed out, grabbing Azula by the hips roughly, sinking what little nails she had into Azula's skin. Azula actually jumped. Her eyes flashed with anger in her own turn, before they softened into something sweeter.

Head leaning forward, Ty Lee's tongue darted out to lick at Azula's skin. It was tangy, and slightly salty. The faint trace of soaps and oils met her tongue as well, and all and all Azula's skin was delicious. Her tongue swirled around, trying to taste all of that addicting salt and sweetness that it could.

She ran her tongue all around Azula's hips and stomach before sliding it between the labia.

Azula groaned and her hand gripped at Ty Lee's loose brown hair.

Ty Lee didn't mind it one bit.

She loved it was much as she loved Azula, for everything and all it was worth.

The flames danced hotter.

As Ty Lee's tongue slid around between her legs, reaching from her clitoris to her labia and back again to the outside of her skin, Azula's grip unclenched and she began to pet Ty Lee's hair. Her hips were rocking in time with the waves of pleasure that were coursing through her.

Twice or thrice, Azula's resolve almost broke (almost) and she nearly cried out Ty Lee's name in her highly aroused state.

But even Azula had to admit it, Ty Lee was amazing with her tongue. She gasped and sighed, nearing climax before deciding that that was enough.

"Enough!" Azula said, clenching her jaw as Ty Lee pulled away from her.

Looking back down, she saw the glimmer in Ty Lee's eyes, and was aware that the tables had turned on her. It wasn't her that was teasing and in control, it had been Ty Lee. She was arousing her, toying and teasing her, and deciding when and how she would orgasm.

Azula bit her lip before deciding to kiss Ty Lee.

A quick peck on the lips before she moved over to the side of the bed, eyeing Ty Lee's form as she walked. Noting that her legs felt rubbery as she walked.

The completely naked Ty Lee tossed the last of the sheets off of her, opening her legs wide. Azula eyed her like she was looking over a map, trying to decide the best and the worst of places, where to strike, where the follow, and how to follow the paths on the land. Or in this case, her skin.

It was all just like reading a map, and she knew Ty Lee's body so well that every place on her was landmarked.

Her collarbones were sensitive and ticklish, and that was always the best place to start out.

But now, as Azula's eyes drifted between Ty Lee's legs, taking in the sight of pink admist the light shades of brown, she knew where to head next.

Sliding her hand forward, onto Ty Lee's thigh. Her leg twitched at the touch. Azula nearly purred as she caressed her inner thigh, rubbing and stroking her so close to her sex, but not close enough to stroke the burning, jittery nerves.

Ty Lee's hands rested low on her pelvis, like she thought about taking matters into her own hands at any moment.

"Don't you even dare," Azula purred.

Ty Lee's hands grabbed at Azula's wrists. Azula looked up at her, clearly surprised. She arched an eyebrow at her, letting her shock show. She wasn't even mad.

"You're getting bold," Azula told her, wrenching her wrists free from her grasp and letting them roam freely onto her thighs on more. Ty Lee said nothing in return.

She traced her fingers innocently for a few more seconds before pushing two of her fingers inside of her, making Ty Lee cry out. Azula pumped her fingers in and out of her, making her wetter than she already was. Her breath was bated, and her hips jumped with each thrust of Azula's fingers.

Pushing her fingers deep inside of Ty Lee, she stroked at her spot once more, and her muscles constricted around her. Azula smiled wickedly, and licked her lips. Her eyes travelled down from her naked sex, union with her wet fingers, up her stomach to her breasts, and the rosy blush of her skin.

Quickening her fingers, Azula continued to piston her hand in and out of her.

When she slid her thumb across her clit, Ty Lee moaned out. Her toes became pointed, and the rosy blush now reached down between her legs, giving her body a delicious color.

Control yourself, Azula said within her mind.

With each swipe of her thumb, Ty Lee's hips reached higher while her head lulled back against the pillow. Her hands came up to grip at the soft pillow. Her hips thrust up into the air again, nearly causing Azula to lose her grip. But she only squeezed her fingers together, and Ty Lee whimpered.

"Do that again," she whispered.

Azula did, only to hear the beautiful music that Ty Lee made.

Removing her hand only stopped the music dead. Ty Lee looked up at her lover through half-closed lids, her body temporally relaxing but still on fire.

Azula raised Ty Lee's leg, and pushed her other leg away with her knee. Positioning herself between her legs, Azula lowered herself down onto Ty Lee, so that the two of them met in the middle. Nothing happened at first, no flames or fireworks, but all that changed when Azula started rocking her hips back and forth.

She fingered them both delicately, making sure everything that was needed was protruding well enough. When that was done, she became wild and frantic, riding Ty Lee freakishly hard. Ty Lee could only quake and moan and throw her body back against the sheets. They were both dripping wet and it only made the slickness between the two of them reach their climax so much faster.

Ty Lee came first, her orgasm seeming to hit her in the stomach.

Her gut clenched, her upper body was thrown forward, her mouth opened in a silent scream of pleasure while her squeezed-closed eyes opened just as wide. Even her legs, which had been shaking something fierce, became stilled in the intensity of her orgasm. Nearly a full minute passed before she could recover, and even when she did there was no rest, for Azula was still riding her, having not come yet.

Ty Lee knew Azula well; she would be pounding down onto her non-stop until she got what she wanted.

Ty Lee enjoyed it though. And it was fair play to make sure your partner was satisfied.

Flames were dancing hot around Azula, blue flames of passion licking at her skin. A thin sheen of sweat coated her skin, collecting on the undersides of her breasts so that a thin trickle streamed down her body. The flames were dancing, hotter and hotter, until Azula was finally burned.

Heat surged through her body, starting between her legs and coursing through her muscles and veins. Azula leaned far back, arching her body, and splaying her arms out to catch her as she fell. Groaning all the while. The flames continued to consume her body, giving her the best of feelings until they finally sputtered and died.

The groaning stopped.

Yet their bodies were still limp, their muscles loose like water.

It was Azula who finally broke the silence between them, after moments of contentedness had passed. With a carefree sigh, she had fell down against the mattress next to a calm and resting Ty Lee, yanking a good portion of the pillow towards her. As her fingers brushed lightly over her temples, making Ty Lee's eyes flutter open to look at her, she spoke:

"We're doing this again tomorrow."

She didn't say anything else, for there was nothing else to say. Nothing that could possibly take this moment away from them, nor was there anything that could heighten it either. It was only a slow wait until they had relaxed so much to the point where their bliss was forgotten and then could each head off onto their own again.


	5. Waiting for Sunset

Time was far too slow, and not on their side. It had divided them once more, and now they waited, both of them with an ache in their hearts that dragged them down, down-casting their eyes and tugging frowns onto their faces.

When Azula looked up, she saw the expanse of a red and dark room, the fires unable to rid the shadows that clung to this room like the evil plans that had happened in it. Soot covered the ceilings, despite the numerous attempts to keep it clean.

The palace workers had tried so hard, but soot was baked in.

Azula saw the expanse of the war room, the elongated tables and the orange fires crackling away. She saw the ambient shadows and warm glows across the skin of the generals, and the deadly steak of the map.

This was not what she wanted to see.

Her eyes were blazing like fire and cutting like darts and her mind was sharp and dangerous, one track and thinking only of one thing. The one thing on her mind that had been there when she woke up this morning, kissing her scars and brushing her hair back from her face.

When Azula looked down, she saw what she could imagine. The blackness of her lap, with her dark red royal robes and the shadowy embrace. In the blank canvas of her lap, she could see her there, her face clear as day and her eyes dark as sin.

Azula swallowed and her eyes glazed over.

She blinked and looked up again, wanting to be anywhere other than here. She wanted to lover, to see her and embrace her. No matter how.

When Ty Lee looked up, she saw clear sky and green tops of trees and the rocky and grassy hills that expanded far before the scene was cut off by the harsh cliff of the volcanic edge. She could climb higher and higher until she reached the peak, and then stare down forever.

Ty Lee could see the maze of the cities and towns sprawled out beneath her, expanding far outward until the cutoff of the ocean, and then the numerous miles of unobstructed horizon, watery with the sunlight shining on it. Blue and blue and more blue, until she cast her eyes downwards again.

Green of grass, brown of dirt, red of her clothes. Warmer, for the approaching monsoon seasons, and for the cold she felt inside of her.

Closing her eyes, blue fire leapt into her mind, flanking her lover, smiling and her hair flowing, her eyes flashing with bright white light and her lips soft and tender against her own. Her skin bare to her, soft with lotions and harsh with the roughness of her work.

Her lips, she wanted to press them against the scars once more, and brush the long black hair out of her face again. And make love to her until the sun went down and the sun came up again.

She could picture the light within her mind's eye, the way the rising and peaking and setting sun would brush Azula's skin and hair a gradient of colors, illuminating her in a plethora of different ways until the night fell and the colors of gloom and sleep painted her once more.

Ty Lee looked up, opened her eyes, and the beautiful visions faded from her once more. Replaced by a blue, blue blue.

Ty Lee sighed.

All she could do now was wait. Wait for the sunset, so close and yet so far away, that would bring the two lovers together again, letting them bind together and caress each other.

Time would relieve, and soon they both would have their release.

In Azula's mind within the war room, she could not hear for she did not listen, and though she talked she did not really speak. Her mind, usually so sharp and focused towards the art of war and the strategy of success, had spun its sharpened point like a compass to a different direction.

Ty Lee she knew.

The phantoms of her were so strong she could almost feel the tickle of her breath and the tickle of her soft brown hair, wavy from the braid she constantly wore.

Her nails were like dagger, and she poked at them all the while. As though the pain in the pads of her fingers would help to snap her back to the present, and the sound of meetings.

It did not.

All she could do was wait for sunset and the release it would bring to her.

To both of them.

Ty Lee watched and waited, walking around the scenes of the Royal Fire Nation Cities, watching and waiting while the sky changed its appearance quickly and yet so slowly. It was always changing, but so gradually that she had to keep her pupils glued.

The blue changed shades, to other blues. But this did nothing.

When the sky finally started changing colors, and taking on so many colors that an artist would need a full set of paint to capture the true range of the sight, that was when the joy began. The meeting was over, and Azula was free.

Ty Lee ran back to the palace, along the entrances of the marbles and stones and metals. All so beautiful but none of them compared.

She hiked her skirts up around her legs to run, not caring who noticed.

Azula exited in a rush, and when she disappeared behind a large pillar of stone and carved granite, Ty Lee rushed into her arms, hugging her fiercely as tears of ecstasy overflowed her vision and spilled down her cheeks.

The two were kissing, desperately, letting their passion be known. Damned it they seemed desperate; they had needed each other all day, and lived in hours of torture while they waited for one another. Azula pulled Ty Lee to her, crushing her body up against her, merging the two of them as best she could.

It still was not enough.

Firebender though she was, this heat was something she craved in a way that drove her insane. It didn't calm her or soothe her or let her feel in charge and in control, calm and collected. It drove her mad, put a spark in her eye and a monsoon in her head.

She kissed Ty Lee desperately, and Ty Lee returned each desperate kiss with fervor, and the two of them ran their hands along each others' bodies. Stroking and grabbing and sinking their nails in and cupping the sensitive, erotic parts of them.

They needed to be closer.

The clothes put a barrier between them, and though it was thin it was too much. Their clothes came undone, sometimes unlaced and sometimes ripped and torn and shredded, and sometimes unbuttoned, and sometimes pulled until the neckline was lost all elasticity.

Ty Lee's naked breasts, then Azula's naked breasts, and then the raw heat between their legs being rubbed up against each other, their fingers dipped in between the two of them, sharing the lust between them.

Outside behind a pillar, where anyone could see them.

Well, anyone be damned. If anyone dared to interrupt them, Azula would have burned them, right then and there. Fiery blue thoughts came to her mind, as she imagined burning off another person's eyes, and her arousal increased tenfold.

Then, oddly enough, she felt guilt.

This was Ty Lee she was supposed to be fucking, not her sick, twisted sadism. Their hands were working rapidly over one another, between their legs then all over their bodies and then back and forth again and again until they were both reaching their climax together.

Azula came first, as she flung her hair back and blue fire erupted from her mouth, scorching in the air and then sizzling away into the approaching night. Her entire body blushed, and her sex was red and wet and swollen.

Ty Lee came next, in a moan that was so musical Azula felt as though she could come again. Their orgasms lingered on into the sunset until the complete night, and still they went to work at each other. Putting each others' clothes back on with pouts, wanting to keep each other naked.

But they couldn't walk naked around a place such as this.

Not only was it unseemly, both for a princess and the princess's right hand, but as a plain and simple general rule. This was not the peasantry islands, where homely groups of people could walk around all day.

This was the Royal City, and they had morals to uphold.

But those morals were gone once again as the doors slid shut, locked, and hid them away from prying eyes and loose lips. Azula, rough and ferocious as always, claimed Ty Lee's body for her own.

She pushed her straight down to the floor, tugging her skirts off of her and spreading her legs, spearing her tongue down into her entrance and making Ty Lee scream in pleasure.

Sunset had come and gone, and now night was here. And soon it would be morning once again, and they would have to part once again, and wait in torturous patience until the next sunset.


	6. The Bathhouse

Ty Lee's tongue did dangerous things to her.

The warmth, the pressure, the way it circled her clit and speared inside of her, tracing its way between her. She licked up her wetness, drinking it all in as she pleasured Azula in ways that only she knew how to do.

Azula shifted back, leaning back on her hands as she let a breathy moan escape from within her. Water splashed around Ty Lee's body as she shifted with her, keeping herself close.

Close enough to spear her tongue inside Azula's heat once more.

Ty Lee's eyes looked up, taking in the full sight of her lover. The gracious swell of her breasts, the firmness of her stomach that flared into beautiful hips, and soft skin with hardly a scar upon it. Azula's head was thrown back, her black hair cascading down her back.

The sight alone was enough to arouse Ty Lee.

But her scent was another thing. Even with all the perfumes of the bath house clouding them in, Azula's scent was something unique and distinct. Something Ty Lee would know anywhere.

The familiar scent of ash and smoke, mixed in with jasmine and sandalwood, the smallest citrusy scent that clung to her body when she was aroused, her legs spread wide to receive her.

Another moan vibrated in the air around them, and Ty Lee smirked.

She flicked her tongue back and forth across her clit, and each time her legs gave a small jump. Ty Lee steadied her with her hands, pressing her palms into Azula's inner thighs.

"Ty–Lee–" Azula moaned.

Ty Lee pulled away from her, some of Azula's wetness still clinging to her lips. She licked away at them, tasting the citrus like it was a lip gloss. Azula's head came back up, looking at her with a hint of anger in her eyes.

"You look so beautiful," Ty Lee told her honestly.

"I know," Azula whispered back to her. She let her fingers entwine in Ty Lee's soft brown hair, and she brushed her fingers through. Near the roots the strands were damp with her sweat, but on the tips they were soaked from the bath.

"I believe it is your turn," Azula told her, sliding her body back into the steaming bathwater.

Ty Lee watched as Azula's breasts disappeared beneath the surface. Her hands moved forward, groping her breasts, giving them small strokes and squeezes. Unable to control themselves, they locked lips into another heated, passionate kiss. Desperation seeped into them as they grabbed each other harder.

Azula's hands were everywhere, exploring Ty Lee's body with heated abandon. She gripped her breasts just as Ty Lee did her's, then moved her hands down to her ribcage, where she rubbed her hands hard up against her skin. Traveling lower, she let her fingers creep into the neatly trimmed hair between her lover's legs, and then let her fingers slide into her.

Ty Lee gasped out, throwing her head back and moaning loud enough to echo through the bathhouse.

Damned if anyone heard them. Now was not the time to care about such silly stuff. Not when the two women were so close to their climaxes.

Azula's fingers thrust in and out of her lover's body, and her thumb slid across her clit, pulling another moan from her. She pumped harder, stroked her harder, her hand a blur beneath the surface of the water.

Ty Lee met each of Azula's thrusts, her hips grinding back and forth, spearing herself down onto her hand until small stars started to form in her vision, and she felt the spread of a white hot heat travel from within her.

Azula kissed her neck, darting her tongue out to stab at the wet skin.

Ty Lee's hands found their way to Azula's hair, where she laced her fingers into her soft hair and gripped hard, giving a small pull. Tiny bolts of pain ran through Azula's scalp, and she found that she liked it.

"Do that again," she commanded.

"What?" Ty Lee said, almost oblivious to her words. She was so far gone on the feeling of ecstasy.

"Pull my hair," Azula told her, and once more Ty Lee gave a sharp tug at her hair. A groan escaped Azula before she could stop it, and she felt a blush rise on her face. "Do it again," Azula said, before realizing that she sounded like she was begging.

She was the princess; she didn't beg.

But when she felt the pull on her head once more, she couldn't help but to let herself submit just a tiny bit. Submit to what Ty Lee was doing to her. It felt wonderful, heavenly even, and wanted more of it. Craved it, needed it.

With an unconcealed groan and sigh, she pulled her fingers away from Ty Lee, and explained to her lover what it was she wanted to be done to her. With the wicked flash that went through Ty Lee's eyes, Azula knew that she had aroused her. A flame of pride kindled within her.

Spinning around, Azula turned her back to Ty Lee, then lowered herself onto her hands and knees. Ty Lee came up behind her, collecting her hair in her fist and tugging back on it. Azula moaned, losing herself in the feeling.

Just as Ty Lee gave sharp pulls against Azula's hair, she began rocking her hips back and forth, letting her body collide with Azula's. Ty Lee thrust back and forth, pounding her hips into the soft curves Azula's ass.

The rocking motion was making Ty Lee's blood race, and deliciously dirty thoughts came to her mind. Thoughts about fucking her lover senseless, and making Azula shake and quiver and beg under her touch. Something that she knew would only ever happen in her wildest of fantasies.

The blood rushed between Ty Lee's legs. The motion itself, of pelvic thrusting, had an orgasmic quality to it, even if Ty Lee couldn't reach it by rocking alone.

Azula crept a single hand between her legs, massaging her clit. She was careful around the soft, sensitive skin, making sure not to cut or pierce it with her long nails. Slow circles gradually increased to a back and forth motion that flicked over the clit fiercely, until her body was pounding backwards, making Ty Lee slam her roughly.

The protrusion of her hipbones only made it all the sweeter.

"You are teasing me," Ty Lee said, feeling emboldened. She had the princess, the fearsome Azula herself, quivering beneath her grasp. Ty Lee gave her hardest pull yet, Azula's hair making her neck curve back.

"Ty Lee?" Azula gasped. Steam started around her hands as she felt the need to firebend. But, since her hands were underwater, she couldn't.

"You are teasing me," Ty Lee repeated, slamming her hips into Azula once more.

Then, words that Ty Lee would never have imagined she would have heard in a thousand million lifetimes escaped from Azula's blushing red lips: "I'm sorry. What can I do to please you?"


	7. Just Stay with Me

"You have a bruise here on your shoulder," Azula said.

Ty Lee nodded, for it was true. There was no point in hiding the truth from Azula, especially not when her eyes were right upon the bruise, critically examining it while her thumb ran lightly over the pained skin.

Ty Lee winced as Azula pressed her thumb into her shoulder, testing the pain. But she did not let out a cry, or moan, or even a gasp. Long ago, back when Azula and she were still fighting in the 100 Year War, Azula had taught Ty Lee to work through pain.

They were lessons she took to heart.

"How did you get this?" Azula asked her. Ty Lee could hear the edge in her voice as she spoke. She could almost see her golden eyes aflame with both concern anger. Could see the way her lip pouted as she put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"You have not been in combat for months, and I know that you won't be fighting anyone for the next two months while you are here with me. So I ask again, how did you get this?"

"I was training, and one of the girls knocked me down to the floor," Ty Lee said. "It's okay, honestly."

"Training with the Kyoshi Warriors?" Azula asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Yeah. Training with them."

Behind her, Ty Lee could picture Azula pouting once more. When Ty Lee began her training with the Kyoshi Warriors once more, it was a sign that their time together was coming to an end, and it would soon be time to part once more. Azula and Ty Lee had spent long times together in Azula's chambers, the part of the palace that Zuko had arranged for her to live in.

_Good old Zuko,_ Ty Lee thought. She raised her hands and clasped her shoulders, giving herself a small squeeze.

Even with Azula denounced as heir to the throne, and inhibited from ever being in charge of grand duties or military command of the Fire Nation, Zuko still acknowledged her as princess, and that was how all of the Fire Nation viewed her. She had her own room, her own chambers, her own handmaids (which she could not lay a finger on).

It made it seem normal, like how things were years ago.

Sometimes, Ty Lee could imagine that this was how things were and would always be. She would drift backwards in her mind, to when she and Azula were only fourteen years old, and the entire palace was at her beck and call and whim. When Ty Lee had just recently quit the circus to join her on a worldwide chase for Zuko and the Avatar.

It did seem like that, sometimes, when Ty Lee closed her eyes and let the memories of the days long past consume her.

But she had to admit, now it was better. Life was just better. For her, and Mai, and Azula (though Azula was reluctant to admit it).

"I wish you wouldn't," Azula said, voicing her opinion after a long moment of silence. Her fingers still ghosted over the blue and purple splotch on Ty Lee's shoulder, and goosebumps arose on Ty Lee's skin.

"I wish I wouldn't have to, either. But I am a Warrior of Kyoshi now, I have duties, responsibilities, and when the girls called me back for some early training, I just couldn't say no!" Ty Lee ended her speech on a high, positive note, which only made Azula pout more.

She could hear the fire in her breath, that she wanted to release.

It was normal for Azula to still fly into her fits of rage. Ever since the first one, they came easier and more frequent to her. Ty Lee wondered if she would ever have the same calculating, calm, and collected Azula return. She had to brace herself for the truth that she might not.

Though it was a hard truth to bear.

When Azula finally sighed, there was a heat to her breath that licked at Ty Lee's bare skin, but no fire, no flames, no sparks. She was calm again, calm and collected. But not calculating. Ever since the war had ended, it seemed like the strategist inside of her had died.

Maybe there was nothing more for her to calculate?

Perhaps there just wasn't a point to it? Perhaps there never was?

Ty Lee didn't know, and couldn't be sure. She turned around, swiveling to look Azula in the face. Azula's hands slid off of her as she spun, and she leaned forward, her arms resting on her knees, while Ty Lee rest her head up against Azula's leg.

"Don't worry, Azula," she said sweetly. "I'm not going anywhere. Not for another two months."

A low hum in the back of Azula's throat was her only answer.

"Azula," Ty Lee said again, pulling her cheek off of her knee, and leaning upwards to kiss her. She let her lips slide slowly over hers, their breaths mingling before the locked together. Azula seemed to pull kisses from Ty Lee, steal them from her, no matter how much Ty Lee seemed to be giving.

When they broke apart, Ty Lee stood on her feet, looking down at Azula sitting on the edge of the bed.

"In a few hours it will be nighttime," Ty Lee told her lover, looking from her golden eyes to the outside world and then back to her eyes. "Would you like to do anything?"

"Just stay with me," Azula commanded. Ty Lee smiled, and said that she would. She leaned in to hug her, to comfort her and press her body hard against hers to make her know how much she was loved.

As they hugged, Ty Lee could feel Azula's fingers pressing into her bruise.

"Just stay with me."


	8. Not Here

"Again," came Azula's voice.

It was calm, collected, smooth. Didn't betray the fact that she had just gone through over an hour's worth of intense physical training, and was about to do an hour more.

Ty Lee craned her head around, her muscles flinching as they groaned with pain. Azula stood a ways away from her, standing tall and powerful, her hand on her hip and a smirk stretched across her lips.

Even from her distance, Ty Lee could see the sweat that coated Azula's body. It shone in the sunlight that had managed the filter through the thin doors.

"Of course, Princess," Ty Lee said, pushing herself up off the mat and back into fighting position. A devious smile worked its way across her face as she prepared for the next set of strikes she was planning out. "Anything you for," she mocked, and launched into position.

It was unlike Azula to make the first move. To do so always put her in a place of vulnerability. She had been taught to let the enemy strike first, let them make the first failure. From there, it was always a short decline to their defeat.

Azula dodged out of the way before Ty Lee could strike her. She was quick, quicker than Ty Lee could handle in her fatigued and pained state, but she still gave it everything she had.

Besides, Azula knew her moves all too well. It was always like she was two steps ahead of her.

Ty Lee aimed a jab at Azula's arm, only to have her strike back, grabbing Ty Lee's forming fist and twisting until she yelped with pain. From there, Azula kicked her foot towards Ty Lee's legs, knocking her off of her feet. Then she pressed her palm into the acrobat's stomach, lifting her off the ground as her feet stumbled, lifting her over her head, and then flipping her over, making her land on the not-as-soft-as-they-could-be mats.

Azula watched as the woman beneath her groaned, putting a hand to the back of her head and rubbing until the soreness went away. Back and forth her hand worked, tangling the soft brown tresses that were pulled back up into a braid.

Another smirk graced Azula's face, and she leaned down, settling upon her knees.

"You're good, but still not as good as I am," Azula told her plainly. Lowering herself down even more, she sat cross-legged at Ty Lee's side, waiting while she tried to catch her breath.

"I will be one day," Ty Lee returned.

Azula arched an eyebrow at her remark. "You think so?" she asked, amusement thick in her voice.

For a second, Ty Lee wondered if she had said something that she wasn't supposed to say; that she'd overstepped her boundaries. But there was no malice in Azula's face, and just as quickly as Ty Lee's fear had come and gone, a genuine smile played upon Azula's lips.

Azula's soft, velvety lips, speaking words like music. Lips blushed a bright red from the adrenaline and increased blood flow; lips that were so kissable.

Without thinking, Ty Lee launched herself up off the floor, and caught Azula's shoulders in her hands. Shocked, Azula hit the mat below her, looking up into the acrobat's face with a stunned expression. Then that too passed, and she took control once more, flipping them both over.

"Don't think you can best me," Azula told her, her voice low and threatening.

"I think I can," she returned.

Without waiting for Azula's reaction, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to her lips. She struggled against Azula's arms, trying to push her back flat onto the ground beneath her, but eventually the resistance faded away. Ty Lee leaned in closer, pressing more kisses to her, as Azula's arms slacked.

Azula bit down on Ty Lee's lip, and a second later Ty Lee felt the metallic taste of blood staining her tongue. Her tongue darted out to lick away the blood, and Azula watched in fascination. There was a spark in her eye that made her look dangerous, but then again, that spark was always in her eyes.

Except this time, it was a bit more sexual.

Azula's golden eyes followed the curve of her tongue as the blood faded away, and rested upon her lips as the wet red mixed along the thin, sensitive skin. Azula leaned in closer, until her heated breath was sliding along Ty Lee's skin once more.

Ty Lee gave a whisper of a moan, and tilted her head back to feel the rush of breath against her neck.

She felt Azula's lips ghost along the side of her neck, sliding down the most sensitive parts, and goosebumps erupted upon her skin. Beneath the breast binder, her nipples peaked as the shivers continued running up and down her spine.

Gentle butterfly kisses fluttered along her skin as the princess let herself indulge in the taste of salt and sweat and sweet skin. Ty Lee's hands found their way to Azula's body, and she let her hands roam up and down her back as she let soft, quiet moans escape from her throat.

Her long fingers intertwined with the jet black strands that were drenched wet and hanging limply down in a ponytail that had nearly broken apart. She played at the back of Azula's neck with her fingers, making tremors go through her lover's body. Up against her, as Azula pressed more of her weight down on top of her, she could feel the trembling.

Ty Lee let her hands slide down her back once more, her fingers pressing up on the curves of her spine, feeling every bump and hollow, and came to rest upon her hips.

Azula deepened the kisses she gave.

But when Ty Lee made to remove her breast binder, she stopped. Broke the kiss apart and leaned up away from Ty Lee, still laying upon the mat. Azula pushed herself to her feet with her hands.

Ty Lee just looked at her, wondering why she'd gotten up.

"Not here," Azula told her, straightening the strands of her hair. "Anyone could walk in and see us. Far too risky, even for me." Ty Lee only saw her feet move as Azula walked towards the door, sliding open the papery screen and peering out into the world just beyond their secluded room.

A slice of bright green filled Ty Lee's vision as the nature beyond the door became visible to her.

"No one seems to be around..." Azula told her.

"But…?" Ty Lee asked.

"Just not here," Azula said, whipping her head around to stare her down. Ty Lee seemed to shrink back down against the mat, and her eyes flicked down to the princess's bare feet once again.

"Not here?" Ty Lee asked in a quiet voice. She still didn't want to believe that Azula _wouldn't_ take this risk.

"Not here," came the confirmation. Not here.


	9. Before the Ceremony

The lemon oil seemed to bite at her skin. Ty Lee had to restrain from hissing as the acidic oil met an open wound that she had on her toe. It was hard, not to hiss at the sting, but she did it anyway.

"Is all this really necessary?" Ty Lee asked the handmaid down at her feet. "I mean, my feet will be covered up and all…"

"Every part of you must be flawless, miss," the handmaiden replied, as quiet and demur as ever. She said nothing else, did not even look up from her work as she scrubbed Ty Lee's feet and buffed away the dead skin.

Most people in the castle were like that.

Ty Lee sighed and leaned back a bit in the chair, making the handmaid with the brush behind her have to begin her strokes all over again. She clasped the base of Ty Lee's brown hair, still wet with the serum that they had put in it, and pulled the bristles through. Now, they slid easily along the brown tresses; when she had first begun, she had to hold Ty Lee's hair at the roots while pulling with all her might.

"Would you care for some wine, miss?" came the voice of another handmaiden. Ty Lee turned her head to look at her. She was quiet, just as docile as the rest.

"No, thank you," Ty Lee said, her voice just barely audible.

The handmaiden at her feet gasped suddenly. Ty Lee leaned forward, eyes wide. "What is it?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, nothing," the handmaiden said, trying to brush it off. "I just scraped my skin with the pumice is all. It is fine, truly."

Ty Lee reached out her hand, and took the handmaiden's in hers. She spun the hand over, seeing a bright red scrape along her knuckles, with blood welling up on her skin and starting to flow down the rest of her hand. Ty Lee said, "That looks bad."

"It is nothing, miss," she replied.

Ty Lee was about to say something more when she was cut off with more reassurances from the handmaiden.

"Really, it looks worse than it actually is. Please, trust me. This is not something to worry about at all. I only have delicate skin."

"Amazing that the handmaidens have skin more delicate than the princess," said a cold voice from beside them. All of them, Ty Lee and her handmaidens, all turned to see Azula in the doorway. She was still in her dark red robe, the silk glossy, and her hair tied back into a ponytail high up on her head. They all bowed to her, Ty Lee not as deeply as the others.

"Princess," they all acknowledged.

Azula walked ahead, into the room where Ty Lee sat upon the chair. She pushed the handmaiden out of the way, and stood behind Ty Lee, her fingers dancing upon her neck. Ty Lee flinched as Azula's fingers tickled her. A smile crossed her face as Azula began to tap her fingers on her skin.

"As you were," Azula said to them all.

Once more, Ty Lee felt the sting of lemon oil on her feet. This time, she did hiss, just as it made contact with the cut.

"Something wrong?" Azula whispered, low in Ty Lee's ear. She stooped her head down until her lips ghosted across her ear, and shivers ran down Ty Lee's back. She let her eyes close, only for a moment, before answering Azula's question.

"No. Not at all," she replied, as brightly as she could.

Azula knew better. All she had to do was look down, to where Ty Lee's feet were, to see the open cut being bathed into a bright pink that faded along her skin. She arched an eyebrow as she took in the scene, quickly processing the information.

"I know otherwise," Azula said again. Her breath slid warmly across Ty Lee's skin, and Ty Lee sighed. She didn't mean to, but it was something instinctive that had happened.

"Lemon oil?" Azula asked, addressing the handmaiden.

"Yes, princess," she immediately replied.

"Good." Azula turned her attention back to Ty Lee then. "Lemon oil helps to eat away dead skin. It will leave your skin softer, smoother. All around more pleasing."

Ty Lee nodded as Azula told her all this; not that she was actually interested, but because she knew that would encourage her more. Whatever mood Azula was in then, she knew from experience how to make it continue.

"If you pour lemon oil into open cuts enough, eventually the sting will go away. It is a good way to train to handle pain, something that I quite excel in. Besides, it's worth it for the soft feet." A smile broke across her face. While she was talking, she had a handmaiden pull up a chair right next to Ty Lee, so that she could sit down.

"You're amazing," Ty Lee said, for no other reason than to provoke her.

"Yes, I am, aren't I?" A small chuckle escaped her, and her eyes closed while she laughed.

Ty Lee thought she looked absolutely adorable right then and there. Something so sweet and innocent, though she knew she was not. After all, she'd just been talking about pain endurance and had hinted at surviving torture. Ty Lee knew that as well as she knew the moon was round; but she was just so cute then.

"In the Earth Kingdom, it is unheard of for a princess to have tougher skin than her handmaiden," Azula said. Ty Lee thought she was talking to her, but she saw that she was actually talking to the handmaiden down at her feet.

"I did not know that, princess," replied the handmaiden. Ty Lee could tell she was picking her words carefully.

"Should I perhaps have you go through training to have thicker skin?" Azula asked, her voice turning sinister. It wasn't complete, but it was there.

"If…" she swallowed, "if it pleases, your majesty."

Ty Lee was about to intervene, but didn't have the chance, for Azula chuckled once more. Azula looked Ty Lee dead in the eye, her golden irises meeting dark brown. Azula didn't actually intent to do that; she just wanted to see them sweat a little bit.

"Don't worry," Ty Lee said, turning her gaze downwards. "She is only kidding." Her relief was visible.

Azula reached across the space between them, clasping Ty Lee's hand in hers. Ty Lee looked down, then back up at Azula. Golden meeting brown once more. Azula was smiling, but there was a flame flickering in her eyes. A flame that Ty Lee knew by heart. Azula's thumb stroked back and forth over her palm, and she uncrossed her legs.

"You will be the second most beautiful girl at the ceremony," Azula said to her, leaning forward.

"Second?" Ty Lee asked, faking confusion. "But Azula, who will be the first most beautiful?" she asked.

"Why, me, of course," she said, putting a hand to her chest. The two of them giggled, like it was an inside joke that no one else knew about. When the laughter stopped, Azula leaned forward even more, pressing her forehead up against Ty Lee's.

Ty Lee let her eyes close.

"Leave us!" Azula declared, standing up from her seat. Ty Lee had gasped when she had abruptly stood. The handmaidens all bowed to her once more, and then quickly obeyed, leaving the two women alone in the room.

Ty Lee's feet were still wet, and she pulled a towel over to them. Once dry, she swung her feet around, standing up on the slick floors, and put her knee down on the cushion.

Azula sat once more in the regal chairs, looking as royal and composed as ever. She made any chair look like a throne, no matter what. Ty Lee pressed her other knee into the cushion, straddling Azula. Ty Lee's hands gripped the armrests, as she leaned forward close to her lover's face. She breathed in the scent of her jet black hair: jasmine, coconut, and cinnamon.

It was all similar to what the handmaidens had used on her hair.

"You smell wonderful," Ty Lee breathed, and kissed Azula's dark strands.

"I know," she breathed back, and pressed a kiss of her own to Ty Lee's neck. Her hand came to the back of her neck, and clasped around it, pulling her forward and making it so she could not escape. "As do you."

"I know."

Azula's fingers intertwined in Ty Lee's loose, flowing hair, following the waves down all the way to the tips. She pressed her face to Ty Lee's neck, and inhaled deeply as her fingers curled. "What scent is this?" Azula asked. "I don't believe I'm familiar."

"It's more of a woodsy scent. You know, cedar. Or something like that."

Honestly, she couldn't remember either. She'd been adamant about picking out her own perfume, to which the handmaidens wouldn't have dared protest against, and even then she picked by the color of the bottle. A glassy green the Earth Kingdom symbol on the side.

"I love it," Azula told her. The vibrations of her voice made waves along Ty Lee's skin as she spoke. She didn't need Azula's constricting hands to push her into her further; she did that herself.

Azula caught her lips in a kiss then. It was heated, passionate, desperate. Azula's arms wrapped all the way around her, and Ty Lee pressed her body up against hers, making their breasts swell with the contact. Her hand sneaked under Azula's silk robe, and she laid her hand upon her breast. A couple of flicks made the nipple harden.

When they stopped to breathe, Ty Lee just had to ask, "Are we really going to do this now?"

"No," Azula said, with a sigh of defeat. She looked angry then, clearly pissed that they didn't have the time to fool around with each other. "No. The ceremony will be starting shortly, and we aren't even dressed yet. So, no, not now."

Ty Lee looked down, disappointed. Her hand still lay upon Azula's breast.

"I did not come unprepared," Azula said, making her look back up. Taking her hand away from Ty Lee's back, she put her hand into her pocket–on the inside of her robe, letting Ty Lee glimpse her naked thighs as she did so. Pulling her hand back out, she produced two small, green orbs in her hand.

"What are these?" Ty Lee asked.

Azula set them in her hand. Ty Lee looked at them, turning them over in her palm, squeezing them. They weren't marbles, she concluded after a while. Those were normally made with glass. These were made of jade. They were larger than most marbles, too.

"Oh," Ty Lee said when she finally realized what she was holding.

"I want you to wear these while the ceremony is going on," Azula said to her. She made Ty Lee close her hands around the jade balls, her fingers over hers. "It will be amusing, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Ty Lee agreed.

She pulled her hand free of Azula's grasp to look down at the jade balls once more. She swirled them around in her palm, made them clack together. Testing them. Exploring them. They were't that heavy, but she would bet that they would be plenty noticeable. To her.

"You put those in," Azula whispered, with one final kiss. "I'll go call the handmaidens. Time is running short."

Her eyes softened then, and she pulled Ty Lee towards her one more time before they had to part.

This time, the kiss was gentle.

Soft and sweet

Ty Lee gave herself into it like before.


	10. We Should Be Lovers

Azula had to wonder how this had all happened. In all her years, she'd never foreseen sleeping with her best friend. All the cards on the table, and this was the one that had been dealt specifically to her.

But then again, she didn't need to wonder why. She knew why, perfectly well. All she had to do was look at Ty Lee to see why she had fallen for her. A body so slender and graceful, and yet could snap a neck as easily as it could breathe. Azula found it immensely attractive. But, of course, if she was attracted to her friends solely because of their skills, it was a wonder why she hadn't gone for Mai, too.

Nails sharp as blades, knives and sais hidden in her sleeves, deadly accuracy. And eyes almost as dangerous as her own.

Azula watched the acrobat do her stretches in the dead of night. She wasn't naked, not this time at least. Azula was, though. Naked, with her jet black strands falling all around. Her hair was spread like a halo behind her head, and falling down onto her breasts. The candlelight was flashing across her golden eyes. A smirk was on her face.

Of course, it was easy to see why anyone had gone for her. Azula knew that if Ty Lee had turned and focused her attention on her alone, she would have found Azula irresistible. Azula's smirk widened.

"Ty Lee," Azula called out softly.

Ty Lee spun gracefully, on the pads of her toes, to face Azula. She gave a dramatic bow in her direction, her head leaning forward and her arms outstretched.

"Your Majesty," she replied, a playful tone in her voice.

"Look at me," Azula commanded, and Ty Lee leaned up to look at Azula, glowing in the candlelight. Her skin was radiant, and sure enough, Ty Lee had a desire to drag her tongue across her golden skin.

Azula watched Ty Lee's eyes travel up and down her body. Her fingers tapped against her thigh, the tips of her nails barely connecting with the skin. Tilting her head to the side, Azula played coy with her, asking her almost innocently what she was thinking.

"I was just thinking of…" Ty Lee let her words die in the midnight air between them.

"Yes…?" Azula said, gently prodding her. It was like a game to her, and as always she would lead the game. She would bring Ty Lee out into the open, expose her desires to her, and have her exactly where she wanted her. She could already see her hair unbound on her pillow, her lips parted and red.

"I was just thinking of…robes," she said at last.

"Robes?" Azula asked, her voice low. There was a glimmer in her eyes, one not given by candlelight but something that came from inside of her. Her devious thoughts playing out in her eyes.

"Yes. This robe that I'm wearing–" Ty Lee spun around, using her hands to hold out the bright red silk from her body, "It is heavenly."

"I'm glad you like it," Azula replied.

Ty Lee did look beautiful in that robe. The way the red silk clung to her curves, brought out the dark undertones in her eyes and made her brown hair shine with all the red highlights and lowlights, as if the sun was striking it. But the way that it clung to her body most of all. The way it draped over her slender waist and then flared out along her hips, and then slid down along her thighs.

"There is no finer creation around," Azula added.

Ty Lee slid her hands down the sleek, smooth fabric. It was like water underneath her hands. Like air. Gentle and cascading, teasing her hands with the secrets of how such a perfect fabric could be achieved.

"Well, I'm happy to be wearing it, then," Ty Lee said.

There was a mirror in Azula's room, large and gilded. Ty Lee went to stand in front of it, where she admired herself. She spun this way and that, casting sultry looks at her reflection, dancing in the candlelight and posing elegantly.

"You should be," Azula whispered. But Ty Lee never heard.

As Ty Lee spun about in the mirror, Azula wondered once more how all this had happened. How had Ty Lee somehow managed to steal her heart, and keep it in her robes? How had she managed to soften even the roughest, harshest parts of her? How had she managed to fall into her bed night after night, without even so much as a hesitation?

Azula didn't know.

And she had to know. To leave things to the unknown wasn't like her; it wasn't a good strategy to use in the long run. Not knowing something wasn't ever an option to her…but maybe, perhaps, it could be an option to her now? For her to not question how they had become lovers but to just accept the fact.

"Hm." She felt almost indifferent to it, but the thought couldn't stop nagging at her.

_We should be lovers, _Azula thought. _We are perfect together. A strong couple, a beautiful couple. The way Ty Lee looks at me…_

She would never say it out load, but Ty Lee could make her heart swell, make it skip a few beats. Make something inside of her flutter in her stomach. She hated it and loved it at the same time. Even after her **_betrayal_** to her, she still felt that tug of attraction that she could never deny.

Curse it.

"I look nice in red," Ty Lee said. "I think I should wear red more often…instead of pink. For a change. I can't have my aura be pink always."

"I don't see why it can't be," Azula chimed in. "Pink is…rather good on your body."

Ty Lee blushed, which only proved Azula's point.

The way her skin brightened whenever she gave her a compliment, the way she glowed when Azula put her hands on her. Maybe it was something selfish and narcissistic, for Azula to love the way Ty Lee reacted to her. But then again, Azula had never been the selfless type.

"I think I'm gonna sleep in this," Ty Lee announced.

Azula filled with disappointment, and a pout flashed across her face. _Why not __**naked**__? _she thought with a hint of agitation. But she only let the pout remain for a split second before she relaxed her face to hide her thoughts.

"Alright," Azula said, feigning indifference. "Do as you will." She gave Ty Lee a soft smile, her eyes filling with something akin to love and starry-eyed admiration, and spun around to her side.

Ty Lee crawled into bed with her, the soft silks of her robe rustling against the sheets.

Ty Lee rested her hand on Azula's hip, and Azula felt the spark of lust ignite in her nerves. She didn't let it show, though. She closed her eyes, pretending to be at perfect ease and contentment; not currently becoming wet between her legs, with blood rushing to make her skin flush.

"Your skin is so soft," Ty Lee whispered, her words dancing in the short space between them.

Azula smiled. She thought of murmuring a thanks to her, but decided against it.

"And your hair," Ty Lee continued, leaning in closer to fill the space between them with her body. She breathed deep, her fingers tangling in Azula's hair and running along the strands intertwined within her palm. "It is soft…silky…it's so perfect." She brought the tips to her lips, and gave them a little kiss. "It smells like heaven."

Yep, Azula concluded. She was definitely a narcissist. But in the end, she still believed that the two of them should be lovers, no matter what the circumstances.


	11. Her Heart Was Like a Diamond

_— "her heart was like a diamond: hard, cold, and yet beautiful"_

* * *

Ty Lee had grunted when Azula pushed her fingers into her.

Azula's purr drowned it out, as her lips traveled up the side of her neck, her fiery breath hot against her sensitive skin. Ty Lee tried to relax herself, forcing her muscles to unclench around Azula's fingers. The pressure felt good, and the slow in and out motion she made as she hooked her fingers, finding the soft, spongy spot on Ty Lee's upper walls…

All that felt good, but Ty Lee couldn't help but notice how especially sharp her nails had grown. How long and pointed. And how they were now hooking up against a rather sensitive area, scratching her where she didn't want to be scratched.

But Azula's purr made Ty Lee forget about all that. If only temporarily.

Soft moans and pants emanated from Ty Lee's soft lips as she rocked her hips up and down, following the subconscious movements of Azula's body.

Azula straddled her, her body hovering above Ty Lee's and practically claiming her for her own. Her hair was let down, and disheveled. Not too princess-like, but so much like a lover, following her primal desires. Like the unhinged Azula giving into the element that claimed her as its own; the princess of fire. And that fire, that glint upon the wet surface of her eyes…

Azula pushed her fingers deeper inside of Ty Lee, and she gave another grunt when Azula's fingers hooked in a come hither motion. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as Azula both pleasured and pained her.

Another purr from Azula's throat, and then she was kissing Ty Lee again, practically smothering her with her lips.

The feel of her kisses lingered on Ty Lee's skin, even when Azula's touch had gone. They were everywhere, like a collage of kisses on her skin, each different than the other. Pattering her body as Azula's heated kisses made their way all over her body and then back to her lips, down to her neck and shoulders, to her arms and then her breasts, and then back to her lips, only to begin the cycle all over again.

Ty Lee tried to focus on Azula's lips. Tried to pinpoint the exact combination of lust and desire and sensitivity and joy that each one of her kisses held. Like an alchemist, she deduced the spell of each kiss Azula left lingering on her skin. One was especially rough, another especially soft. One was lustful, and the next loving.

A moan built up within Ty Lee's chest, and before she could stop it, it poured forth from her, filling the air with her music.

Azula thrust her fingers deep, and then hooked them again. Ty Lee cried out. She quickened her pace, hooking her fingers even more sharply. Ty Lee's body writhed against the bedsheets as Azula plunged her fingers in and out of her.

Azula slid her thumb across Ty Lee's clit as she did so, and she was able to pick up the subtle change in sound as Ty Lee's moans shifted from pleased to ravaged. It only made Azula quicken her pace even more, and she moved her lips from kissing Ty Lee's lips to down to her breasts, where she caught one of her nipples in her teeth and gave a soft tug.

Not as soft as it could have been, though.

Ty Lee cried out again. Azula gave another almost-tender bite to her breast just as her fingers curled again, hooking and thrusting all at once, and her sharp nails scratching her sensitive insides. She noticed this despite her oncoming orgasm, with Azula's thumb swiping over her clit. Ty Lee just wished she could come already so Azula would stop this torment.

She almost thought about faking it, but then, miraculously, she did come. Her back arched and muscles involuntarily constricted around Azula's fingers, and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes opened wide.

Azula smiled down at her, her smirk wicked and her eyes almost shimmering with the lustful malice in her eyes as she watched Azula lay helpless and enthralled. There was a certain spark in her shimmering eyes, and Ty Lee knew it all too well. Ty Lee focused on this look set within her golden eyes as her orgasm was drawn out into seconds, more and more and more...

Ty Lee slowly came down from her high. There were still very strong, very powerful aftershocks that made her body spasm as they rushed through her, but eventually all of that subsided. Which left her only with the lingering pain that she couldn't stop.

She ached in between her legs, and her nipple slightly throbbed. Ty Lee actually had to put her fingers down between her legs to see if she was bleeding, but luckily no blood came away from her.

She sighed in relief as she leaned up and shifted away from Azula, offering her no explanation.

Ty Lee slid to the edge of her bed, curling her knees up to her chest and looking down at the ground. She knew even without touching the surface that it would be cold. Frigid almost, especially after just having spent a fiery, burning hot night with Azula.

The moon was sinking, and Ty Lee knew that it would soon be morning. But it would never arrive fast enough.

Azula seemed to notice her distress. Comfort was not something she cared for, nor something she was good at, but she still leaned up in the bed, sliding next to Ty Lee, and wrapping her arms around her. Ty Lee didn't struggle, did not even think, but laid her head down on Azula's shoulder, grateful for her closeness.

"Now, now, Ty Lee," Azula said, petting her hair. "There is no reason to feel sad."

Ty Lee said nothing. How could she make Azula understand? Well, simply put, she couldn't. How did she tell her that she had put her in pain, and that she wanted to her stop. Didn't want to experience that ever again.

_Maybe I can just ask Azula to cut her nails?_ Ty Lee thought to herself.

A part of her thought that she might.

"Ty Lee," Azula purred, her fingers tapping beneath her chin and turning her face up to look at her. "Look at me," she bid, and Ty Lee did what she asked. Azula's eyes weren't cruel this time, weren't full of malice and lust. She looked like the same person Ty Lee had grown to love and care for.

But now she had seen a darker side of her.

"Talk to me," Azula told her, her voice nothing but a breathy whisper in her ear. Ty Lee shuddered as her breath slid down her skin, making her hot all over again.

"I want to," Ty Lee said, "but I can't."

"Then you will suffer in silence," Azula responded. It wasn't a threat, it wasn't a warning. It was simply a statement. _If you do not tell me, you will suffer in silence. Is that what you really want?_

Ty Lee took another deep breath, crossing her arms in front of herself and looking away from Azula's face. Her gaze was just something she couldn't look at while she thought. Every thought in her mind screamed for her to just tell Azula what was wrong. Something in her told her that Azula would fix it, would cut her nails and soften her bites for her if she asked. But something else held Ty Lee back as well.

She had seen Azula's worst sides. She had seen her when her world was crumpling; yet she had seen her when she was on top of the throne conquering the world. Images like that were hard to dispel from your mind. They were like living paintings set in front of her that she could not tear her eyes away from.

That image of a cruel Azula, and of a weak Azula, stayed locked in her mind. Ty Lee thought of her less like a lover tonight, and more like her conquerer. It made her shiver again, despite the warmth Azula and the bed were currently offering her.

"Azula," Ty Lee timidly said, turning to meet her—lover's—gaze. "I…kinda…hurt…"

"Hurt?" Azula asked. "How so?"

"Well, your nails are–are kinda sharp. And I wish that you would–cut…them…if that's not too much to ask." Ty Lee offered her a small smile and Azula returned it in due time.

"Fine," Azula said, pulling away from Ty Lee and pulling the covers over herself. "I'll cut my nails. Short. Soft. Blunt." She rolled over. "Just for you."

"Thank you, Azula," Ty Lee said, the love and gratitude apparent in her voice.

Ty Lee couldn't see Azula's expression, for she had turned away from her with the sheets pulled up around her. But Ty Lee had to imagine that she was different that a conquerer, that she was really her lover.


	12. Burns

**Burns**

It actually hurt. A lot.

But she didn't let it show. She was far too stubborn and far too proud for that. Even when Ty Lee tightened the bandages around her arms and hands, she didn't wince. Didn't let her face betray her.

For so long she'd been taught that only the pathetic show weakness or signs of pain, and she was never really able to outgrow such lessons.

Still, when Ty Lee tied off the bandages woven around her fresh burns, she couldn't help but flinch. She glanced up at Ty Lee, making sure that she didn't see it. Azula was sure that she didn't. Besides, if she did, she knew well enough to not let Azula know that she'd seen.

"How's that feel?" Ty Lee asked her.

Azula shrugged, and said, "It's fine. Not up to your usual standards, though. And the cold water was a terrible idea; it's only going to get soggy."

Ty Lee sighed and shook her head, smiling all the while. "I'll take that as a thank you," she said.

Azula rolled her eyes.

Ty Lee giggled as she put the roll of bandages back inside the bag she had with her. Inside of it was all sorts of medicine and first aid: apothecaries meant for soothing burns and rashes and fevers, bandages and tweezers, and even scalpels. But it was mostly bandages and creams. Azula spotted a greenish looking paste that she knew had seaweed in it. She was thankful that Ty Lee hadn't used that on her burns; it would have smelled awful.

Azula pulled her eyes away from the medicine bag and looked down at her freshly bandages arms.

"Do you think they'll scar?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" Ty Lee asked, not sure that she'd heard her right.

"My arms," Azula repeated, thrusting them forward. "Do you think they'll scar?"

Ty Lee took her arms in her hands, turning them over and back again. She regarded her quietly, and Azula waited for her to speak. Her jaw clenched as the time ticked on and Ty Lee hadn't said anything yet. Her patience was starting to grow thin.

"Well?" Azula snapped.

"I don't know!" Ty Lee said. "Maybe. They were only second degree burns, but they should heal. I treated them properly, and–"

Azula yanked her arms away from her and stalked towards the window. She crossed her bandaged arms in front of her and glared at the outside world. "Great," she grumbled, "I'll spend the rest of my life looking like Zuko." She hissed her brother's name.

Ty Lee walked over to her, stopping just a few feet short. She was scared to touch her, or to get too close. She knew how Azula was when she was in these types of moods. She still had a scar on her face from one of Azula's destructive tantrums. The scars were fading, and with a little bit of makeup no one could see them. Ty Lee knew that they were there, though. She found them stinging whenever Azula used her voice menacingly.

"Maybe it's symbolic," she suggested.

Azula turned to look at her, clearly bewildered. "Symbolic?"

"Yeah," Ty Lee said, ignoring the glare on Azula's face.

Azula spun and strode up to her, holding out her bandaged arms for her to see. "What about this is symbolic to you?" she snarled. "And don't give me any of those poetic, spirit tale excuses."

"Well…becoming burned by your own flame in a moment of rage. It's like that old proverb, don't you think? Grasping onto a coal with intent to throw it…only you end up getting hurt when your intent was to hurt others…" Ty Lee shrugged, and then backed away.

"You've been listening to my uncle too much," Azula said. She sounded calmer than she felt. But then a sigh escaped her lips and she sat down on the mats beneath her, crossing her legs and putting her sore hands in her lap.

Ty Lee crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Say what you want, but he's got a lot of good advice," Ty Lee told her, a wide smile spreading across her face. Azula found that she couldn't look at it for too long. Something about her smiles made her arms hurt again, though she didn't know why.

"You should see him again," Ty Lee said.

Azula said nothing in return.

"No, seriously!" she continued. Ty Lee did an elaborate twirl before she sat down next to her on the mats, crossing her legs to mirror Azula's position. "You've been away from your family a lot, and I was just thinking that maybe it would do you some good to go and say hello to them. Or at least see them again…"

Ty Lee stopped, not wanting to press her luck.

Azula remained quiet for the longest time, and Ty Lee thought that perhaps she had entered some sort of meditative state. It was only when Azula sighed (making Ty Lee jump) that she thought otherwise. Thinking was more like it. Azula was known to think long and hard a lot of times, often on things that didn't need so much of it.

"Ember Island has not been kind to me," Azula mumbled.

"It's supposed to reveal the true you," Ty Lee said. "At least, according to Lo and Li, that is." Azula said nothing in response, and Ty Lee looked away from her. "I should probably go see them someday. They're not going to be around much longer, y'know…"

Still Azula said nothing.

Ty Lee cupped Azula's face in her hands and kissed her sweetly on the forehead. She felt Azula's skin heat up in a blush as she kissed her. Her smile widened, loving the fact that she was able to have this kind of affect on her. When Ty Lee pulled away, she gazed at Azula with starry eyes.

Azula's face was flushed, and her lips had parted like she had wanted Ty Lee to take her and kiss her on the lips...but still, she just ignored her. She was too far lost in her own thoughts, as is.

Calculating the degree of the burn, how it would scar, whether or not her fighting would be perfect for the next few days while it was healing, whether or not people would ask questions…

Azula didn't think anybody'd be stupid enough to ask about her scars; and besides, even if they did, a cruel glare in their direction usually shut them up.

"I'm going to head down to the beach," Ty Lee said.

She waited for Azula to say anything, do anything. Even if it was as simple as a tilt of the head or the parting of her lips again.

Nothing.

"Feel free to join me," she said, and then she was gone, leaving Azula in the room alone.

She sat there for a long time, thinking and thinking. She became lost with her own thoughts, like she had so many times after her imprisonment. All the therapy she'd gone through had a tendency to make her become stuck in her head sometimes, having mental conversations with herself and replaying out scenes of her life like a storybook.

After hours spent alone, Azula sighed, got up off the mat, and went to go join Ty Lee down by the beach.

* * *

_Reviews appreciated._


	13. Waves

**Waves**

_\- "some things you let go in order to live"_

* * *

The waves were crashing up against the beach, rather that smoothly sliding over the sandy shoreline before making a subtle retreat. Maybe a storm was coming, but Ty Lee didn't see a single cloud in the sky.

Sunset was coming, with the sun sinking closer to the verge of the horizon. They sky was painted with soft blues and even softer oranges. The stars had yet to come out, but Ty Lee was hopeful.

She looked over at Azula, who walked along quietly with her.

Ty Lee smiled, beaming at the scenario she was currently in. She and Azula, taking a long, romantic walk on the beach of Ember Island. Nothing like the romantic stories she'd read on scrolls, though.

Azula was quiet, sulking almost, and lost in her thoughts. She looked only at her bare feet, making soft imprints in the wet sand before being completely washed away. Salty ocean water rushed over her feet, and she watched almost hypnotized.

Her arms were crossed in front of her.

Ty Lee had tried several times to hold her hand, but Azula didn't even notice when she reached out her hand, offering it to her, wanting to intertwine their fingers together and swing their hands back and forth as they enjoyed their walk.

If Ty Lee was being honest, which she had tried to do for the past few years of her life, Azula was hating this walk. She looked far too bitter, and Ty Lee had to admit that she was a little disappointed.

But still, here she was.

A small, little victory that she could celebrate.

"Azula?" Ty Lee's voice was all but a whisper.

Incredibly, she didn't have to call her name again. Azula turned her head to look at her. No glare, no indifferent look, no smugness or sharpness. It was an empty expression at best. Almost nothing. Hollow eyes and a quiet mind.

Ty Lee didn't know what to think about it.

They both stopped walking then, standing still on the beach as the waves continued to wash over their feet, making the sand swell around them and make them sink into the ground.

"Do you feel okay?" Ty Lee asked her.

Azula uncrossed her bandaged arms and looked down at the sandy ground. "I honestly don't know anymore, Ty Lee," she replied.

No lies? No deceit? No attempt at hiding at all?

Ty Lee was definitely weirded out now.

She put her hand on Azula's shoulder, and she slumped forward. The waves continued to wash over them, the sand suck at their feet, so Ty Lee didn't attempt to step forward. But she noticed that Azula leaned into her touch, if only but just an inch.

"It all seems so distant," Azula mumbled.

Azula turned her head to watch the sun. It was sinking closer towards the ocean, and the bright light burned her eyes slightly. But only slightly. She didn't need another part of her body burned, so she tried looking at Ty Lee. She couldn't see her, though, only bright spots dancing in front of her vision.

"You won't fight me," Azula said to Ty Lee. More like told.

"Only in practice…for fun…" she replied.

The bright spots were starting to fade away from her vision, and she could see Ty Lee's unsure smile. She made no attempt to smile back; what would be the point? Besides, she didn't live to comfort her.

"Then who can I fight?" She had meant to snap the question out at her, but it only sounded quiet. Un-intimidating.. A question just like any other. She might of well had asked, What time is it? Or, What's on your mind?

"You know, you don't constantly have to fight," Ty Lee said.

Azula scowled at her.

"It's true," she said. She wanted to pull her hand away from her, lean far back away from her, and maybe walk away until she felt safe, but she didn't. Instead, Ty Lee tightened her grip on Azula's shoulder, and put on a determined expression.

"You don't have to constantly fight someone," Ty Lee repeated. "Is that it? You're not fighting anyone? Is that why you've been so…"

"So what?" Azula asked.

Ty Lee shook her head. "Come on," she said, grabbing Azula's hand and pulling on it. She forced her feet up from under the sand and started walking along the beach again. Azula followed, thought whether or not reluctantly she didn't know.

"If I were to attack you now, would you fight me?" Ty Lee heard Azula ask her.

She tightened her fist around Azula's hand. She didn't want to think about Azula attacking her. She wanted Azula to be somewhat…well, normal wasn't the word she was searching for, but it came close.

Ty Lee sighed and just continued to drag her along the beach, pretending all the while that it was a nice, romantic walk. Her eyes drifted out to the sea, past the waves crashing up against the sands and all the way out to the horizon, which was who know how many miles out.

It looked almost placid all the way out there.

"You didn't answer my question," Azula said, after a long time had passed.

"No," Ty Lee said, her voice strong and sure. "I wouldn't. Because I don't want to fight you, and I don't want you to fight. There's more to life than that, though I know you've never been able to see it."

She was snapping at her, and Azula looked at her with a somewhat stunned expression. Ty Lee knew she was most likely crossing a line, but she didn't. She had wanted to say this for so long, all her pent up stress and every other emotion that Azula brought out in her.

"I'm not going to fight you. You know what am I going to do? I'm going to walk along this beach with you, enjoy the rest of the day, and then at night we'll go back to our place and enjoy each others' company!"

Azula stood there, silent for a long time, before she said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Ty Lee asked, not sure she'd heard her right.

"Yes. Okay." Azula nodded, took Ty Lee's hand in her own, and starting walking down the beach with her.

Ty Lee was smiling then, altogether pleased with herself. She was practically beaming as she walked down the beach hand in hand with her lover, enjoying the sound of nature and the slight breeze that lifted her hair.

Until she realized, that is, that a battle of wills was still fighting with her.

And, Ty Lee realized, she had won that fight.


End file.
